We'll be in the kitchen 'Baking a Better Holiday.' And extra virgin olive oil will play a leading role in our recipes. From artisan bread to chocolate almond torte, olive oil adds a wonderful, nuanced flavor to baked goods. Plus, experts everywhere have found it's better for your heart than butter, which is higher in saturated fat. So what's not to love?

We aren't the only ones who turn to extra virgin olive oil in our baking. Open a good restaurant menu, read a cookbook or food magazine, or scan a food blog. Increasingly, you'll find delicious tortes, pound cakes, cupcakes and other baked goods made using extra virgin olive oil.

The upshot? A new baking repertoire has taken hold in this county featuring good extra virgin olive oil - like the oil made in California.

Here' why:

FLAVOR: "It just so happens I love the flavor of olive oil," says Jeff Hertzberg, a best-selling author and doctor who has just released a new book, Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in Five Minutes a Day (St. Martin's Press, 2011), says. "I use it in baking mainly for the flavor contribution, and the fact that it's a healthy fat."

"Olive oil adds a depth to the flavor," says vegan pastry chef Fran Costigan, who once relied mainly on canola and other "neutral" oils in her desserts. "I seem to be getting a richer product when I use olive oil rather than the neutral oils."

Moreover, the use of extra virgin flavor can improve cakes, pie and tart crusts, as well as pizza and bread dough, bakers and pastry chefs tell us. "It tenderizes the dough," Hertzberg, the author and doctor, says. House notes that olive oil helps baked good retain their freshness "much longer than when using butter or margarine."

And by all means experiment. If a recipe, like a carrot cake, calls for canola or some other vegetable oil, we've found you can substitute olive oil on a one-for-one basis. You'll get the added bonus of better flavor.

We've teamed up with Bob's Red Mill as well as chefs and quality food bloggers to showcase their recipes using extra virgin olive oil in baking. We encourage you to visit their communities for additional holiday favorites.

Like wine, different extra virgin olive oils deliver different flavor profiles. And to help you with your holiday baking, here are suggestions for how to use our extra virgin olive oils as an ingredient in baked goods and flavors.

These rules aren't set in stone. They come from author and olive oil guru Fran Gage and other experts. In the end, experiment - and let your palate be the final judge.

Delicate oils, which are fruity and have a slight peppery note, including: our Everyday Fresh, Arbequina, and Artois Ranch Mild and Buttery